MAJOR BOOST FOR HISTORIC RURAL ARTEFACTS COLLECTION
Weald &
Downland
Open Air Museum
Welcomes Grant From Designation Challenge Fund
The Weald & Downland Open Air Museum at Singleton near
Chichester, West Sussex, has been offered a grant of £71,000 from the
Designation Challenge Fund to help care for its off-site collections of
historic rural artefacts, including horse-drawn agricultural machinery,
carts and wagons.
Most of the Museum’s historic collections are housed in the
spectacular Downland Gridshell building, opened in 2002, which is open to
the public during a daily guided tour and by appointment. However, a
significant number of large artefacts remain in storage off-site, with no
means of public access.
The Designation Challenge Fund is administered by the
Museums, Libraries and Archives Council, and is intended to help with the
care of collections that are designated as being of national importance.
This grant will enable the Museum to reorganise and improve the
documentation and undertake basic conservation work on its collection of
agricultural machinery and wheeled vehicles, and to improve their storage.
It will also enable the introduction of a new database system, complete
with high quality digital images, to provide access to information about
the collections.
The resulting database will be linked to the “distributed
national collection” which has been pioneered by the Museum of English
Rural Life at Reading University. Eventually this will provide a single
point of access to information about collections of agricultural machinery
and rural life throughout England. The Museum will also be working closely
with West Sussex Past, a web-based project which aims to link together the
county’s heritage resources.
Richard Harris, Museum Director at the Weald & Downland Open
Air Museum said, “Thanks to this funding, the Museum will be able to greatly
improve the care and documentation of its remaining off-site collections.
Our visitors will be able to see the results at the Museum, and the wider
public on our website, so for the first time these important collections
will be accessible to all. The project will provide major benefits for the
wider museum community in terms of improved research, with straightforward
access to a common database system. It will also lay the foundations for the
Museum’s long-term aim to bring all of its historic collections together on
site”.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The
award-winning Weald & Downland Open Air Museum has over 45 historic building
exhibits and is designated by the Government for the outstanding importance
of its collections. Exhibits include a medieval farmstead; a working
watermill producing wholemeal stoneground flour; exhibitions focusing on
traditional building techniques and agriculture; historic gardens, farm
livestock and a working Tudor kitchen which also offers Tudor dining
fortnightly on Saturday evenings. The Museum runs a well-established
programme of courses in building conservation and rural crafts. There is a
café which uses the Museum’s own flour and a shop with gifts and books on
countryside and buildings themes. The modern Downland Gridshell houses the
Museum’s building conservation centre and artefact collection. There is a
daily tour at 1.30pm when the Museum is open, and an appointments system for
visits to the collections for research purposes.
NOTE TO EDITORS
Reporters and photographers are welcome at the Museum.
For
further information call the Museum information line on 01243 811348 or
contact Cathy Clark, Marketing Officer
Tel:
01243
811014.
Fax:
01243 811475
Email:
marketing@wealddown.co.uk.
Full
details about the Museum and its activities can be found at
www.wealddown.co.uk
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